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Quick Guide
There are quite a few things you must consider when you are taking first few steps in Dugout-Online. Although it does seem like you got a lot of money to spend, the number (1.000.000 £) can be deceiving!. Here are a few notes, do's and dont's that we think you should know about before you jump into the world of Dugout-Online football management. Don't waste your precious money on facilities you don't need (yet)! Although the thought of having a modern youth training academy or a big club shop can be quite persuasive and can lead you to make a mistake and end up with a hole in your club's bank account, we are here to prevent that to happen. Simply, don't do it! Not right at the beginning anyway. Those facilities are not only costly but can cost you leg and arm each week in maintenance fees. And, for example, club shop can prove to be more of a money waster than the provider of income until your fan base is big enough(remember, you are starting a a small club). So what do we recommend? Well, until you get familiar with the game, we can suggest you don't buy any new facilities or buildings. You can however splash on a pitch upgrade or two. It won't kill your bank balance and at the same time, the ball will run more smoothly (allowing for more creative play) and the better grass quality will also protect your players from injuries. Do NOT upgrade your stadium until it's needed! This one is important! Stadium upgrade not only costs a lot(and I do mean a LOT: 500 £ per seat!), it also results in higher stadium maintenance fee each week! (remember, you need to pay 0.5 £ for each seat on your stadium per week). So, we recommend you wait at least until your club rating goes up a little before you invest in the stadium upgrade. Do NOT buy coaches or physios you don't need or can't afford! Another major one! We witnessed numerous managers going bankrupt because they invested in 5 coaches and physios with salaries they couldn't afford for a month, let alone the whole season! Be smart! Again, you are a small club, so act accordingly. Invest in 2-3 coaches (or if you really want 5 of them, then at least take those that you can afford!). Find a coach with 22-29 in Youngsters skill that you will use to train your youth squad. Then(at least I would recommend that - there are other ways of doing this of course), maybe go for one general coach (try to find a guy having balanced numbers on GK, DF, MF and FW - he will be used for general training) and maybe one "specialist" in the area of your choice. Maybe search for a general coach with ratings around 20-25 in most training areas and a coach with about 28-29 in this "special" area you want to improve. If you approach this differently(by using 5 coaches right from the beginning), then you will have to lower your expectations for their skills to 15-19 so that the wages won't break your balance account. As I said, there are many other ways you can approach this, but whatever you do, pay attention to how much they want to be paid each week! And, as for the physios... until you are considered a small club, you don't really need more than one(in my opinion). Take one with knowledge a bit above 10 (and speacialty is a bonus). When you are hiring staff, take into account that you need to survive a season that is around 17 or 18 weeks long (plus 3 or 4 weeks of pre-season). Do NOT buy players you don't need or can't afford (sounds familiar?) Again, one of the most common mistakes leading new managers to bankruptcy. Salaries for good players can get enormous and you are bidding against bigger clubs then yours! On free transfer, try not to offer salaries you can't afford. Remember, you need to pay the offered amount to the player each and every week(not only once)! Try to find a bargain instead. Need to fill a gap in your defence? Well you are probably in one of the lower divisions(as you are reading this) so you don't need(nor can afford) a defender rated 30+(don't even think about getting one above 40!). Try to get a solid defender that is maybe rated around 15-18 with good primary skills for a defender (like tackling, marking, positioning...). If you get lucky and the guy is even talented, then you could've very well bought yourself a future star for a reasonable amount of money. And if not, ...well he is still good enough to play for your team at this time (at least until you reach a higher division). Same goes for bidding on transfer listed players. Don't offer ridicilous amounts of money that you cannot afford! Use a bit of logic and just leave those high rated players to the teams that are in higher divisions, earning more money than you and thus can afford players of such caliber. Include defenders and attackers into your first 11! Although it maybe sounds funny, but you need to submit a legal line-up on a match day if you don't want to play with bot 4-4-2 random tactics. Please check the rules for more detailed explanation on what you can and cannot submit as your tactics. We also recommend that you use a common sense in creating the tactics for match day. Use at least 3 defenders (of any kind) at the back. You can experiment what works best for you but the common formations include at least 1 central defender (DC) and 2 full backs (or more attacking-minded wing backs). Although using 2 wing backs is still risky business if there is only 1 central defender guarding the goal. Maybe better to consider 5-3-2 if you want to use wing backs. 3 central defenders can do the job too (though that can leave you more voulnerable on the wings if the opponent employs the sort of tactics that uses wingers). Let me say it right away that using only 2 defenders just won't work. And no, defensive midfielders won't help you much in this case because they are still midfielders(not defenders). As for the attackers, using no attackers can work sometimes(by employing attacking midfielders) but you cannot expect to score a lot of goals like that. Again, it depends on the tactics you are using. You can try two classic strikers, maybe one striker (in 4-5-1 or 5-4-1 formation). You can also use wingers to try and get more crosses into the box. Use your imagination and prepare the tactic that will fit your players. And again(I just can't stress this enough), don't play without defenders. You'll earn a bot tactics and get beat! ... badly! Don't buy too many players! ... because like in real life, this can get you and your team in trouble! If you have many players training together, you are risking arguments, tensions and even fights which can result in your players droping morale points (or even worse, getting injured in a fight)! Check the condition of your players often! Player should always have his condition over 80% (even over 90% if possible)! If his condition drops below that, he will not play or train as good as he can when fully fit! If his condition drops below 60% then expect to have a zombie in your line-up instead of a football player, because such player will barely move on the pitch!